CEPI awards contract worth up to US$12.5 million to consortium led by Wageningen Bioveterinary Research to develop a human vaccine against Rift Valley fever
Oslo, Norway, July 10, 2019—Wageningen Bioveterinary Research (WBVR), part of Wageningen University & Research, and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) hereby announce a new partnering agreement. With support from the European Union's (EU's) Horizon 2020 programme, CEPI will provide up to US$12.5 million for vaccine manufacturing, preclinical research, and a phase 1 study to assess the safety, tolerability, and immunogenicity of a single-dose vaccine candidate (RVFV-4s) against Rift Valley fever virus for use in humans. WBVR will lead a consortium of research, manufacturing, and clinical evaluation organisations to undertake this project.
To produce this vaccine candidate, researchers at WBVR have altered the genome of the Rift Valley fever virus in a way that significantly weakens it. This "attenuated" virus will be used as a vaccine to generate a lasting immune response against the disease. This investment is part of CEPI's third call for proposals, launched earlier this year with support from the EU's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 857934.
iStock, MarianVejcik
About Rift Valley fever